Mail box



O. O. KOLSTAD.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9,1921.

INVENTOR WlTNESS: A'FI'ORNEY Patented Dec, 5, 1922.

OLE-0. xots'ren, or DULUTH,

MAIL Box;

an: a Application filed May 9, 1921. Serial No. 468,130. b 7' To all u hom cit-may concern:

Be it known that l; OLE O. KoLsTAo, a citizen of the United States. residing at Duluth, in the county of Saint Louisand State of Minnesota, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Mail Boxes, of

which the following is a. specification.

This invention relates to deposit and collection receptacles particularly to mail boxes. and has for its object the provision of a mail box designed to be built into the wall of a house or other building and constructed in the nature of an elongated box like casing provided at its upper end with an entrance door located at the outside wall of the building and provided at its lower end with an outlet door located at the inner wall of the building.

It is well known, especially in rural districts, and in fact anywhere. that mail such as magazines, newspapers, small packages and the like are frequently left by the postman upon the door step or porch as the ordinary mail box, even though one is provided, is not capable of receiving such mail matter as above described. In many instances it occurs, especially in windy weather that certain of this mail such as newspapers and the like is blown about and frequently lost as there is no suitable receptacle provided into which they may be deposited by the lettercarrier. Even where a mail-box is provided, such as in oflices, apartment houses and the like, the boxes are generally of such small size that they are capable of receiving letters only. It is therefore apparent that ordinarily no adequate provision is made for the proper reception of mail matter of all kinds, regardless of whether the occupant of the premises is present at the time of delivery or absent for a protracted time. It is with these various disadvantages in view that the present invention has been designed.

An important object is the provision of a mail box built into the wall of a house and provided with doors which will effectively exclude cold and which may be made to match the outside and inside finish of the wall within which thebox is located, if preferred, so that the device will present a pleasing appearance and will not bea'disfigurement in any way.

Another important object is the provision of a mail box of this character which hasits bottom wall inclinedwhereby when a certain delivery of mail lis made therein the mail will naturallygnot remain in' upright position so as to calise' a 'n extsucc'eeding delivery to be disposed in end to end relation upou -thefirst delivery. .2: p

In this wav' it will be 'seen that capacity vantages in viewythe invention consists 1n l the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accom 'mnying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of the outside wall of a building equipped with my mail-box.

Figure 2 is asimilar view of the inside wall,

Flgure 3- is a vertical sectional view" through the wall and through my box.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view. Referring more particularly 'to the drawings the letter A designates the wall of a building which is here shown as being offrame construction and including the studding B covered on the outside by the usual sheathing C to which are secured clapboards D or the like. The: inside of the wall is here shown as formed. of laths E covered with plaster F. \Vhile the wall of a frame dwelling is illustrated it is quite apparent that my invention to be described is equally well adapted for use in:a brick or other wall.

In carrying out my invention I provide an elongated box like receptacle 10' which may be formed of sheetmetal if preferred or which may be formed as a casting. This receptacle is disposed within the wall A preferably at the time the building is constructed, though it is of course conceivable that 1t may be built into the wall subsequently to the completion of the building. The upper end of the receptacle 10 is formed in its outer wall with an opening 11 surrounded by a slight flange 12 which fitslwithin an opening 13 formed in the wall A. The upper wall of the receptacle is inclined as shown and this upper wall is designated by thefirumeral 1%.

Finished at the lower edge of the opening 11 as shown at 15, is a downwardly and outwardly swinging door 16 carrying a holder 17 adapted to contain a card or like bearing thereon the name of the owner of the box and this door is provided with a handle 18 whereby it may be opened, The door is preferably held shut normally by means of a spring 19 arranged in any suitable or preferred manner. The door is formed of a greater size than the opening 11 whereby it will project beyond the edges of the latter so as to exclude cold air and rain from the interior of the receptacle.

It is understood that the receptacle 10 might be of the same width throughout its length, though in actual practice I prefer to form it with a laterally extending portion 20 which begins at a point slightly below the bottom of the opening 11 and which extends to the bottom of the receptacle. The bottom 21 of the box is inclined as shown and the rear wall 22 is formed with an opening 23 at the lower end of the box surrounded by a slight flange 24 which fits within an opening 25 at the inside of the wall A. The lower end of the lateral extending portion 20 merges into the inclined v bottom wall 21 along a curved surface. as indicated at 26. I

Hinged preferably at the lower edge of the opening 23 of the box, as shown at 27, is a suitable door 28 having a handle 29 whereby it may be conveniently swung downwardly to give access to the interior of the receptacle. This door 28 may be provided with any suitable latch or may be provided with a lock mechanism indicated at 3.0 whereby only the proper authorized person may have access to the box.

In the use of the device it is apparent that the postman desiring to-deliver mail to the residence equipped with my box pulls the door 16 down and deposits the mail ,within the receptacle. The mail will of course drop down onto the inclined bottom 21 and will accumulate within the box until re moved by the proper person. As above mentioned the proper person may remove the mail by opening the door 28. If preferred, the owner of the box may leave the door 28 open whereupon all mail deposited within the receptacle will pass straight on through and drop onto the floor or any receptacle placed beneath the door 28.

Secured within the upper end of the receptacle I provide a spring clip 31 within which may be engaged mail matter to be collected by the postman.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a very simply constructed and consequently inexpensive mail box which is adapted to be built into the Wall of a building and which will efliciently take care of all character of mail matter depos-- ited therein, the box being preferably of a comparatively large capacity so that considerable quantities of mail may be received and in fact so that several deliveries of mail might be made in case of absence of the owner Without danger of overcrowding the box. As before stated the bottom wall of the box 21 is inclined so that the mail dropped thereinto, that is mail matter such as magazines and the like cannot remain on end but will have to lie in an inclined position so that mail subsequently deposited within the box will not bank up upon the first deposited mail and occupy any excessive amount of space.

While I have described and shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim,

. 1. A mail box comprising an elongated receptacle adapted to be built into the wall of a building, said receptacle being provided at the upper end of the front surface with anopening surrounded by a flange adapted to project through an opening in the outer wall of a-,building, a hinged door normally clossaid opening, the receptacle being prod ed at the lower end of the back wall with an opening surrounded by a flange adapted to project through an opening in the inner wall of the building, and a hinged door normally closing said second named opening.

2. A mail box comprising an elongated receptacle adapted to be built into the wall of a building, said receptacle being provided at the upper end of the front surface with an opening surrounded by a flange adapted to OLE O. KOLS'IAD. 

